Washington's Acting CIO to Retire in June

After more than three decades in Washington state government, Rob St. John will retire at the end of June. St. John has been serving as acting chief information officer and director of Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech) since October 2017, following the departure of Michael Cockrill. All told, St. John will retire after 33 years in public service. “Rob has done a great job leading WaTech these past several months, and I congratulate him on his much-deserved retirement,” Gov. Jay Inslee said, in a statement. “He’s helped our state and our agencies navigate many important changes and innovations, and I thank him for his 33 years of public service.” A national search to name a permanent CIO for the state has been underway since Cockrill stepped down in October 2017 to take a position in the private sector. St. John has spent about the majority of his career in IT in some capacity, starting with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, where he would go on to serve as CIO. In 2012, St. John was named director of Consolidated Technology Services, followed by being named director of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). “This agency employs some…